Discovering the sound worlds through the body

Abstract

The paper is based on my doctoral study (Juntunen 2004) that examines the various aspects of embodiment within Dalcroze Eurhythmics and that includes four substudies (Juntunen 2002ab; Juntunen & Westerlund 2001; Juntunen & Hyvönen 2004). The theoretical framework of my research was drawn from Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s (1908–1961) phenomenology. Following Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, embodiment refers to experiencing and knowing the world subjectively through the living body-subject. The perspective of embodiment accounts for how human beings think and act holistically and how the body can be considered a constitutive element of cognition and creativity.